The Norfolk Tides are the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and a member of the International League. Norfolk has been the top affiliate of the Orioles since 2007, and a member of the International League since 1969. The Tides served as a New York Mets affiliate from 1969 - 2006 before aligning with the Orioles in 2007.

Since the Tides joined the International League, over 1,000 players have played for both the Tides and a Major League club. That list includes two Hall of Famers (Gary Carter & Mike Piazza), an MVP (Kevin Mitchell), three Cy Young Award winners (Dwight Gooden, Mike Scott & Jake Arrieta) and three Rookie of the Year Award winners (Jon Matlack, Darryl Strawberry & Dwight Gooden).

As of 2018, 49 different players have made 113 appearances in the MLB All-Star Game after having played for the Tides. Recently, players such as Jonathan Schoop, Justin Turner, Brad Brach, Zach Britton, Chris Tillman and Matt Wieters have all played in the All-Star Game after having come up through Norfolk.

The Tides have won five Governors' Cup Championships, taking home the IL title in 1972, 1975, 1982, 1983 and 1985. Norfolk has made the IL postseason 20 times, most recently during the 2015 campaign.